On April 26, Meng Zhong took Le Yi and Meng Hu to the battlefield of Xueyi, preparing to assist the crown prince Dai Wu in resisting the Qi army.

He originally planned to take the road of "Pei County - Nanhu - Teng County - Xue Yi", after all, when the Song State was attacking Teng State, it had repaired the official road from Pengcheng to Pei County, so the road conditions were the most smooth and convenient.

A few days later, Meng Zhong, Le Yi, and Meng Hu rode their horses along the official road next to Surabaya to arrive at "Liuxian", and were about to rest in the city for a night before rushing to Pei County, but they never thought that that night, the soldiers of the post house led a messenger to meet Meng Zhong, and Meng Zhong only learned that the messenger was actually sent by his brother Hui An.

"General Meng, this is what Dr. Hui ordered the villain to deliver to you overnight." The messenger took a bamboo slip from his bosom and respectfully handed it to Meng Zhong.

The reason why he called Meng Zhong a military general was because a few days ago, before Meng Zhong left Pengcheng, Song Wangyan temporarily granted Meng Zhong the position of a liner.

"I'm tired."

After thanking him, Meng Zhong took the bamboo slip and opened it, and after only two cursory glances, his brows furrowed deeply.

At this time, Le Yi had already sent the messenger out of the house, and after turning around and closing the door, he saw Meng Zhong staring at the bamboo slip in his hand with frowning brows, so he asked curiously, "What's the matter?" Could it be that the battle situation on Xue Yi's side is unfavorable? ”

"Hmm." Meng Zhong beckoned Le Yi and Meng Hu to gather at the low table in the room, and then spread the bamboo slips on the low table, frowned and said, "This is a transcription of the front-line battle report, which should have been written by the crown prince Dai Wu...... According to the war report, the Qi army was menacing this time, the speed of the attack was quite rapid, the prince Dai Wu fought in the Qi army in the wilderness, unfortunately was defeated by the Qi army, and then the prince retreated to Jingguo City, did not think that the Qi army attacked the city fiercely, so that the city was lost in just a few days. At present, the crown prince Dai Wubing is divided into two routes, with the army Sima Jingyi leading the first army to retreat to Teng County, while the prince and Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi retreat to "Qiyang", trying to resist the further attack of the Qi army with the defense line of "Teng County - Nanhu (Weishan Lake) - Qiyang". ”

Speaking of this, Meng Zhong turned over the bamboo slips, and saw that there was a simple map drawn on the back of the bamboo slips, which marked the approximate locations of Tengxian, Xueyi, Nanhu, Qiyang, Pengcheng and other places.

From this simple map, it is not difficult to see that "Qiyang" is located in the southeast corner of the entire Nanhu, only a hundred miles away from Pengcheng, if this city is occupied by the Qi army, the Qi army can directly attack the hinterland of the Song royal capital, it is no exaggeration to say that this is a very dangerous situation.

And Hui Ang sent people to send this bamboo slip for several days, thinking that it was also to remind Meng Zhong and the others that Xue Yi had fallen, so that they could be rerouted to Qiyang.

So the next day, Meng Zhong, Le Yi, and Meng Hu could only return the same way, go southeast to bypass the entire Nanhu, and then detour to the northeast to force Yang.

Qiyang County, in fact, is the territory of the Qiangyang State that collapsed nearly 300 years ago, and it was one of the victims during the "Jin-Chu Struggle for Hegemony".

About 280 years ago, the monarch of the Jin State, Jin Mourning Gong, as the overlord, invited the monarchs of the twelve countries, including Lu Xianggong, Song Gong, Wei Hou, Cao Bo, Ju Zi, Yi Zi, Teng Zi, Xue Bo, Qi Bo, Xiao Yi Zi, Qi Shiziguang, and Wu Wang, to discuss the alliance to defeat the Chu State.

During this period, the general of the Jin State, "Xun Yan (Zhi Clan)", believed that the Yang State was close to the Chu State and should be the first to occupy it, so as to open the way for the alliance army to crusade against the Chu State.

At first, the chief general of the Jin State, "Xun Gang (Zhi Clan)", disagreed, believing that although the city was small, it was quite strong, and if the alliance army went to conquer, the victory would not be martial, and the defeat would be ridiculed by the world.

However, due to Xun Yan's insistence, in the end, the alliance army of the entire thirteen countries still killed under the city of Qiyang and surrounded the entire city.

In the face of hundreds of thousands of alliance troops from the Thirteen Kingdoms, Yang Jun led his subjects to defend the city, and even blocked hundreds of thousands of alliance troops for twenty-four days with the help of a projectile land, and did not show the fatigue that the city would be breached.

In this case, Xun Yan, the general who insisted on attacking the Yang Kingdom, and the two "Shi Kuang (gaì, Jin Guo Fan's)" actually wavered first, and suggested to the main general Xun Gang to retreat, which provoked Xun Gang to be furious, and ordered Xun Yan and Shi Kuo to personally lead the army to attack the city, and if they could not break through the Yang City within seven days, they would all be beheaded.

Under Xun Gang's strict order, the alliance army organized a siege again, during which Xun Yan and Shi Kuo took the lead in killing the head of the city, and finally broke through the city on the fifth day.

Yes, in front of the army of the Thirteen Nations Alliance, which amounted to hundreds of thousands, the Yang Kingdom only relied on the land of projectiles and the disparity in strength, and it was a full twenty-nine days, although it was difficult to avoid the fate of being breached in the end, but it was undeniable that this was an amazing feat.

Afterwards, there was the question of the ownership of the Yang Kingdom, and the Jin State of course gave priority to the Song State, his most reliable ally.

It is worth mentioning that the Duke of Jin Mourning originally planned to give the Yang Kingdom to the Song State Doctor "Xiang Rong" as a fief, but Xiang Rong resolutely did not accept it, so the Jin Mourning Duke gave it to the Song Duke, so that the strong city of the Song State became the territory of the Song State.

Therefore, the crown prince Dai Wu retreated to defend Qiyang after the defeat, which is actually a good choice, after all, although the city of Qiyang is small, it has been known for its solidity since ancient times, and it is not so easy for the Qi State to conquer this land in a short time.

However, Meng Zhong did not know the history of Qiyang City, so he was inevitably a little anxious after learning that the crown prince Dai Wu had retreated to Qiyang County, so that he and Le Yi and Meng Hu traveled non-stop, day and night, and arrived in Qiyang County from Liuxian County in just three days.

On the morning of the second day of the fifth month, Meng Zhong, Le Yi, and Meng Hu arrived at Qiyang City on horseback, at this time, in the northwest and northeast of Qiyang City, they had each established a military camp.

And the crown prince Dai Wu himself seems to be stationed in the city of Qiyang, with one city and two battalions, distributed in the shape of an inverted "product".

Because the city was already in a state of war at this time, the city defense was quite strict, so when Meng Zhong and a few people rode close to the city gate, the Song soldiers in the city were quite vigilant, even if Meng Zhong later showed the runes given by Song Wangyan, those Song soldiers were still suspicious, and finally brought Meng Zhong, Le Yi, and Meng Hu to the crown prince Dai Wu.

Of course, the crown prince Dai Wu knew Meng Zhong, although they had only met each other once, but because Meng Zhong was not only a disciple of Zhuangzi, but also a righteous brother of Hui An, Dai Wu was very impressed by Meng Zhong.

After saluting each other, the crown prince Dai Wu asked Meng Zhong puzzled: "Little brother, the army of the Qi State is already outside the city of Qiyang, this place is extremely dangerous, I don't know why the little brother came to force Yang?" ”

When Meng Zhong heard this, he said truthfully: "On the orders of the king, I came to help the prince." ”

“……”

Crown Prince Dai Wu was stunned when he heard this, and he didn't come back to his senses for a while, but several guards behind him couldn't help but chuckle in a low voice after hearing Meng Zhong's words.

Probably feeling that there was a bit of contempt and ridicule in those chuckles, Meng Hu exclaimed angrily: "What are you laughing at?!" When my brother was in the state of Zhao, he served as the guard of Zhao's father, and he also led thousands of soldiers to defeat the army under the command of Zhao Cheng, Li Dui, Fengyangjun, and Zhao Bao, Yangwenjun...... Isn't it enough to be a mere liner?! ”

Hearing this, Prince Dai Wu's face showed a shocked look.

After all, he didn't know about Meng Zhong, let alone Meng Zhong's experience in Zhao State, his impression of Meng Zhong was only at the level of "Hui An's righteous brother" and "Zhuangfuzi's high apprentice", so when Meng Zhong said that his intention was to help him repel the Qi army, in fact, the crown prince Dai Wu also had a hint of laughter in his heart.

Of course, it was not ridicule, but it was funny that the serious expression on Meng Zhong's face when he said this really didn't match his still immature face.

However, after listening to Meng Hu's words, the crown prince Dai Wu was stunned, he never thought that Meng Zhong, a young man who looked only sixteen or seventeen years old, actually served as the guard Sima of Zhao's master's father in Zhao State, and even led thousands of troops to defeat Zhao Cheng, Anpingjun, Fengyangjun, Li Dui, Yangwenjun, Zhao Bao and other famous names of Zhao State.

"Ah Hu, you must not be rude in front of the prince."

Meng Zhong stopped Meng Hu in a low voice, he didn't want Meng Hu to publicize his experience in Zhao State for him, after all, the experience in Zhao State was not very good for him, especially the death of Lord Zhao's father.

"It doesn't matter."

Raising his hand to stop Meng Hu, who was apologizing to him with an angry face, the crown prince Dai Wu asked Meng Zhong in surprise: "Master Zhao...... Could it be Zhao Wangyong? Little Brother Meng once served as a guard Sima by Zhao Wangyong's side? ”

"This ...... Ashamed. Seeing that the crown prince Dai Wu asked in person, Meng Zhong thought about it, and finally admitted it, because he could also see that the prince in front of him seemed to know nothing about him, and when he thought of the result of his "light words" when he was in Zhao State, Meng Zhong thought that it was best for him not to be too modest, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

"Incredible......

Seeing Meng Zhong admit it in person, the crown prince Dai Wu's face was full of shock, and the guards behind him also looked at each other, not daring to laugh at Meng Zhong and the others anymore.

After all, the king's guard Sima, this is not something that anyone can do casually, obviously the young man in front of him has a lot of talent, which is why he is valued by Zhao Wangyong.

Thinking of this, the crown prince Dai Wu straightened his expression, and at the age of about thirty, he respectfully bowed to Meng Zhong, and Zhengse said: "In this case, I implore the Mongolian army general to help Dai Wu, Dai Wu is grateful." ”

Seeing that the crown prince Dai Wu actually made such a big gift, Meng Zhong was also a little flattered, and hurriedly replied: "The prince is serious, and he is also a Song person, how can he sit back and watch the soldiers of Qi invade our country?" I will definitely help you! ”

Hearing this, Dai Wu was very happy, and immediately ordered to prepare wine and food, but Meng Zhong stopped him, clenched his fists and said: "Prince, the enemy is at present, it is better to discuss countermeasures first, and implore the prince to immediately summon Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi to the city to discuss countermeasures." ”

Dai Wu glanced at Meng Zhong with some surprise, in fact, he still had some doubts about Meng Zhong in his heart, after all, Meng Zhong was too young to look like an experienced general, but Meng Zhong urged him to immediately summon Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi to discuss countermeasures, Dai Wu admired it very much, thinking that Meng Zhong was at least a person who was enthusiastic about national affairs anyway.

Subsequently, the crown prince Dai Wu invited Meng Zhong, Le Yi, and Meng Hu to his temporary residence in the city, that is, the palace where Yang Jun once lived, although in the more than two hundred and eighty years, the Song State also often sent people to repair the palace, but because the palace is long, and the Song State does not have too much spare money to repair carefully, so the palace still feels dilapidated.

While waiting for Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi, the crown prince Dai Wu ordered the left and right to prepare wine and food, and Meng Zhong was not in a hurry to ask Dai Wu about the process of "the fall of Xue Yi", after all, this was tantamount to slapping His Royal Highness the prince in the face.

About half an hour later, Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi came to this palace one after the other, and when they saw the three teenagers Meng Zhong, Le Yi, and Meng Hu sitting in the palace, the two military horses also showed a look of confusion on their faces.

It's no wonder, after all, neither Dai Busheng nor Dai Yingzhi have ever seen Meng Zhong, let alone Le Yi and Meng Hu.

"Two clan uncles, please take a seat."

Seeing Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi entering the palace, the crown prince Dai Wu hurriedly got up to greet him.

"The prince is very polite."

Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi bowed, and immediately couldn't help but glance at Meng Zhong and the three people next to him who also stood up to greet each other, and asked Dai Wudao curiously: "Prince, who are these three teenagers?" ”

When Dai Wu heard this, he introduced Meng Zhong and said: "This is Master Zhuang's high feet, the righteous brother of Doctor Hui Anhui, Meng Zhong, this time I specially came to help me repel the Qi army on the orders of my father. ”

“……”

Hearing this, Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi both looked at Meng Zhong with strange expressions.

Hui Ang had a righteous brother named Meng Zhong who was a disciple of Zhuangzi, and both Dai Busheng and Dai Ying knew about this, and they also knew that this Meng Zhong had presented the construction method of the well chariot to the Song Dynasty in the "Battle of Song Teng" a few years ago, helping their colleague Jing Yu to defeat the Teng State in one fell swoop.

Therefore, on weekdays, they don't have any other opinions about this Meng Zhong, but the sentence in the mouth of the crown prince Dai Wu, "He was ordered by his father to help me repel the Qi army", made these two military horses really harsh to hear.

You must know that the two of them are military commanders who command the troops of the first army, and they have also fought for many years, but even they are not very sure about repelling the Qi army, but the young man in front of him dares to boast of "repelling the Qi army"? Where did that put the two of them? - Although it was not what the teenager said, Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi still felt a little uncomfortable.

But considering that this young man named Meng Zhong was Hui An's righteous brother, Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi didn't dare to attack, and after glancing at each other, they barely squeezed out a few smiles, so that their smiles looked quite weird.

"It turned out to be the righteous brother of Dr. Hui, and he came to help the prince on the order of the king, so ...... Then I'll listen to this ...... first This little brother suggested it. ”

Pi smiled twice, and Dai Busheng pulled Dai Yingzhi to sit down in the seat on the other side of the hall.

Of course, Meng Zhong could see that these two military horses probably had some opinions about him, but he didn't care, after all, he had no conflict of interest with these two military horses, the other party just didn't trust him, in this case, as long as Meng Zhong showed his skills and gained the trust of the other party, then the mustard between them would naturally disappear.

So, Meng Zhong took the lead in asking: "The crown prince, as well as the two Simas, although they learned that Xue Yi had been captured by the Qi army, but they didn't know the specific process, can they tell me about it first?" ”

At the mention of this, a trace of unhappiness flashed on the faces of Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi, but just as the former was about to speak, he heard the crown prince Dai Wu say: "Let me tell this matter." ”

Meng Zhong was stunned, his original intention was not to let the prince Dai Wu tell it, after all, this was Dai Wu's first battle, he suffered a defeat in the first battle, and lost the entire Xue Yi, you can imagine the embarrassment in the heart of the prince Dai Wu, but unexpectedly, the prince Dai Wu took the initiative to ask to tell about it.

But since the crown prince Dai Wu had an intention, Meng Zhong couldn't refuse, so he could only arch his hand and say, "That'...... There is Prince Lao. ”

Dai Wu shook his head slightly, and then said with a serious face: "I remember that it was the second day of the fourth month, I was ordered by my father to lead the army to garrison Xueyi, and when I arrived in Xueyi, I remember that it was mid-April, and at this time, the Qi State had already declared war on our Song State, and according to the news sent by the detailed work afterwards, the Qi army officially launched an army to attack Xueyi on the ninth day of the fourth month...... Therefore, within a few days of me and Jing Yu Sima and the two clan uncles leading troops to garrison Xue Yi one after another, the army of Qi State had already invaded Xue Yi and was menacing......

At this time, he glanced at Dai Busheng, and then continued: "At that time, I discussed countermeasures with Jing Wei Sima and the two clan uncles, Jing Wei Sima suggested that the wall should be cleared and defend Jingguo City, but Uncle Busheng said that the Qi army is strong and our army is weak, and this time the Qi army is menacing, if you blindly defend, it will definitely boost the arrogance of the Qi army and damage the morale of our soldiers, so Uncle Busheng suggested a head-on decisive battle, so that the Qi army understood the decision of our Song State to defend the territory, forcing the Qi army to retreat despite the difficulties, and the result was ......."

He couldn't go on anymore.

Because of that battle, they were completely defeated, and finally had to retreat to Jingguo City.

However, Jingguo City did not hold on for a few days before it was captured by the Qi army with a ferocious offensive.

"I see."

Meng Zhong couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Dai Busheng.

Probably thinking that Meng Zhong's gaze at him was a little strange, Dai Busheng was a little unhappy in his heart, and asked indifferently: "Yes, it was my idea to go out of the city to face the battle...... What do you think about this? ”

Meng Zhong shook his head and said with a smile: "In my opinion, Sima's proposition is correct, but it seems that he underestimated the strength of the Qi army, so he suffered defeat. ”

Dai Busheng was stunned, and then finally couldn't help but get angry and said, "Boy, are you mocking me?" For Dr. Hui's sake, the old man gave you a little thin noodles, don't you want to ......"

"Sima misunderstood."

Shaking his head and interrupting Dai Busheng's words, Meng Zhong turned his head to the crown prince Dai Wu and said: "Prince, Dai Busheng Dai Sima's proposition is correct, this time the Qi State used troops against our Song State, the cause was the civil strife in the Zhao State, during which the Zhao master's father and Gongzi Zhang both died, and the people who controlled the national affairs afterwards were Zhao Cheng, the Anping Jun who was friendly to the Qi State, and Li Dui, the Fengyang Jun, so the Qi State wanted to take the opportunity to take revenge on the hatred of the Song and Yan countries that helped the Zhao master father attack the Qi State, and even took the opportunity to annex my Song State, so the army of the Qi State was menacing......"

“……”

Lala was overwhelmed with robes, and Dai Yingzhi motioned to the former, who still had a bit of anger on his face, to temporarily restrain his anger, and immediately listened attentively to Meng Zhong's analysis.

In fact, Dai Busheng was also a little stunned at this time, because he felt that Meng Zhong seemed to really support his point of view, not mockery.

Ignoring Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi, Meng Zhong continued to say to the crown prince Dai Wu: "Because of this, Dai Busheng Sima's proposition is correct, at this time, my Song State must not show the slightest weakness, otherwise, the Qi State will definitely take this opportunity to increase the intensity of the offensive and try to annex our Song State in one fell swoop...... Only by fighting with the Qi army with the belief of not hesitating to lose both sides can the Qi country hesitate. …… At present, my Song Kingdom is like a pedestrian walking in the mountains and forests, and Qi Guo is a half-starved wolf, if a person turns around and flees, the wolf will definitely chase after him and bite him to death; But if a man is not afraid of danger and confronts the wolf head-on with a ferocious attitude, this may make the wolf retreat...... Unless it is extremely hungry, otherwise, the beasts in the mountains are never willing to be injured when they hunt prey, because once injured, it will become the prey of other beasts, and the same is true of the Qi State, although it has the intention of annexing my Song Kingdom, but it is absolutely unwilling to be greatly injured because of my Song Kingdom, otherwise, it will inevitably affect the attitude of Qin and Zhao towards the Qi State...... The Qin State does not need to say anything, just talking about the Zhao State, even if the Zhao State is currently friendly with the Qi State, but if the Qi State is greatly damaged because of the crusade against our Song State, will Zhao Cheng, Li Dui and others miss the opportunity to annex the Qi State? Never! ”

“……”

Prince Dai Wu nodded abruptly.

Even Dai Busheng and Dai Yingzhi nodded secretly after hearing Meng Zhong's words.

At this time, Meng Zhong turned his head to look at Dai Busheng, and said to the crown prince Dai Wu with a slight smile: "However, the analogy between the man and the wolf that Fang just said below, although it is also advocated that the person must meet the wolf head-on, but the original intention of the next is to intimidate, and bluff to make the wolf understand that if you dare to rush up, even if I am bitten to death by you, you will definitely be seriously injured, and then become the prey of other beasts, instead of really rushing up to fight that wolf desperately......"

“……”

Of course, Dai Busheng knew that Meng Zhong's words were specifically said to him, but at this time, he did not feel resentment in his heart, but felt a little embarrassed, after all, after listening to Meng Zhong's analysis, he also felt that he was blindly fighting head-on with the Qi army, although his proposition was correct, but it was indeed a bit reckless.

After thinking about it, he took the initiative to lower his posture and asked Meng Zhongdao: "Little Brother Meng, then do you have any suggestions for this?" ”

Seeing that Dai Busheng's attitude towards himself had changed, Meng Zhong smiled slightly, and then said with a straight face: "Since you have retreated to the Yang now, it is better to ask someone to build a city around the Yang Dynasty......

"Building a city?"

Dai Wu, Dai Busheng, and Dai Yingzhi were puzzled.

Seeing this, Meng Zhong nodded and said in a deep voice: "Yes, build a city, and not only build one place, especially when our army counterattacks, every time we seize a place, we will put on a posture of building a city in the local area, so as to tell the Qi army on the opposite side, since you Qi State wants to fight, my Song State will accompany you, one fight is not enough, if you want to fight, you will fight for ten years!" Twenty years! Even if my Song Kingdom is inevitably attacked by your Qi State in the end, my Song Kingdom will drag your Qi State from the position of a powerful country, and ask your Qi State to follow in the footsteps of my Song State and bury my Song Kingdom! ”

Looking at Meng Zhong who clenched his fists, the crown prince Dai Wu, Dai Busheng, and Dai Yingzhi were speechless by Meng Zhong's words.

At this time, Meng Zhong glanced at the crown prince Dai Wu, softened his tone and said: "Only with such a belief that the fish will be broken and both sides will be defeated, can my Song State be resurrected from the ground of death and force the Qi State to withdraw its troops." ”

"Wonderful! It's wonderful! ”

After a moment of silence, Dai Yingzhi stroked his palm and praised, and on the side, although Dai Busheng spoke, his same palm-stroking action was enough to prove the point in his heart at the moment.

And the crown prince Dai Wu, while stroking his palms and complimenting, looked at Meng Zhong again with a surprised gaze.

If he was still skeptical that Meng Zhong had served as the guard Sima of Lord Zhao's father, then at this moment, he was convinced.